Means and techniques for releasably securing ski boots to skis

ABSTRACT

Ski bindings involve an attachment to the toe portion of a ski boot in the nature of a cam socket which is releasably engageable with a spring-urged plunger on a ski. Such plunger presses such boot attachment into releasable engagement with a forward end of an elongated plate which has a length commensurate to the length of a boot and which mounts a cam block on its rearwardmost portion. Such cam block is normally received within an adjustable abutment mounted on the ski. The plate carries a spring-urged stirrup having a portion engageable with the top portion of the boot heel to normally press the boot into engagement with the plate. When abnormal forces are developed, as in mishaps, the boot is released from the ski, depending upon the direction of the force, either at the toe portion or at the spring-urged stirrup. This automatic release at the stirrup is preadjusted using an adjustable screw.

United States Patent Whittaker 1 June 27, 1972 [54] MEANS AND TECHNIQUESFOR RELEASABLY SECURING SKI BOOTS TO SKIS [72] Inventor: William R.Whittaker, Beverly Hills, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Whittaker Corporation [22] Filed: Dec. 21, 1970 [21]Appl.No.: 100,037

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Austria ..280/1 1.35 K

1,460,323 10/1966 France ..280/11.35 F

Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Milton L. SmithAttorney-Donald E. Nist and Jay I-I. (Quartz [5 7] ABSTRACT Ski bindingsinvolve an attachment to the toe portion of a ski boot in the nature ofa cam socket which is releasably engageable with a spring-urged plungeron a ski. Such plunger presses such boot attachment into releasableengagement with a forward end of an elongated plate which has a lengthcommensurate to the length of a boot and which mounts a cam block on itsrearwardmost portion. Such cam block is normally received within anadjustable abutment mounted on the ski. The plate carries a spring-urgedstirrup having a portion engageable with the top portion of the bootheel to normally press the boot into engagement with the plate. Whenabnormal forces are developed, as in mishaps, the boot is released fromthe ski, depending upon the direction of the force, either at the toeportion or at the spring-urged stirrup. This automatic release at thestirrup is preadjusted using an adjustable screw.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures MEANS AND TECHNIQUES FOR RELEASABLYSECURING SKI BOOTS TO SKIS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to ski bindings and more generally to means andtechniques for releasably securing ski boots to skis.

At present, there are a multitude of ski bindings available. Eachbinding consists of a toe and a heel release unit which cooperate torelease a ski boot, which is normally finnly held therebetween whenabnormal forces are applied at the toe and/or heel units. Although manyof the present ski bindings provide an acceptable margin of safetyagainst injury to the skier, there is a continuing search for evenbetterand safer ski bindings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the interest of safety and reliableness thepresent invention provides a new combination of elements involvinggenerally releasable means at the toe portion of a boot, at the heelportion and also upon release of a spring-urged stirrup, depending uponthe intensity and direction of those forces which might be considereddetrimental to the safety of a skier.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a newcombination of elements which provides more consistent reliable releaseof boots from skis under various abnormal conditions.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide means andtechniques of this character which assures release of a boot from a skiunder more abnormal conditions than heretofore.

Another specific object of the present invention is to provide animproved combination. that provides new and improved results and which,if desired, may be assembled from available elements in accordance withnovel teachings of the present invention.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. This inventionitself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood byreference to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a skiboot releasably secured by a toepiece device and a heel clamping deviceto a ski in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view with the ski boot removed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken substantially as indicated bylines 3-3 and 44 in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the cam element of the heelclamping device and toepiece device respectively.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are top and side views respectively of a portion of theheel clamping device with a cover member in open position in each FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view like FIG. 7 with the cover member in closed positionand also shows details of the heel engaging roller and spring actuatedmeans for pressing the roller into engagement with the boot heel.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 10- 10 in FIG.9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The ski bindings involve ;atoepiece clamping device 10 and a heel clamping device 12 each mountedon a conventional ski The boot B of conventional construction has itsheel portion unaltered but its toe portion is fitted with a socketstructure 16 which for present purposes may be considered an integralpart of the boot since it is not intended to and in fact does not becomedetached from the boot in skiing operations.

The socket structure 16 includes a generally arcuate support member 18which partially embraces the forwardmost portion of the boot sole and issecured thereto by suitable fastening means (not shown).

Adjustably secured to such support member 18 is a socket member 20 usinga bolt 22 passing through an elongated adjustment slot 18A in member 18and threaded in socket member 20. To aid in maintaining; alignment ofthis adjustment the socket member 20 mounts a toothed element 24 whichengages like teeth 18A on the support structure 18. By these means thesocket member 20 may be adjusted in a vertical direction with respect tothe endportion of a spring urged pin or plunger 26 which is slidablymounted in its housing 28, such housing 28 being secured to the ski S byfour screws 30 passing through aligned apertures in housing 28 and plate32.

The coaction between the bulbous end of pin 26 and socket member 20 isof importance and is now described in relation to FIGS. 4 and 6. Thesocket member 20 has a shouldered portion 20A which engages and seats ona forward ledge portion 34A of a heavy elongated plate 34 having alength substantially equal to the length of the boot. The socket member20 is formed with an apron portion 203 which extends rearwardly andterminates in an arcuate cam surface 20C against which the bulbous endof pin 26 is normally pressed by compression spring means (not shown) inhousing 28. Two other cam surfaces, namely: angularly disposed camsurfaces or faces 20D and 20E are on opposite side of the cam surface20D and are contiguous therewith sothat under certain conditions thebulbous end of plunger 26 may ride along such surfaces for automaticdisengagement of the pin 26 from the socket member 20. To permit andfacilitate initial normal positioning as shown in FIG. 4 the socketmember 20 is provided with an enlarged aperture portion 20F into whichthe bulbous pin or plunger 26 may temporarily extend when and as theboot with the socket member 20 thereon is being pivoted and located withrespect to its ultimate seat 34A. It will be seen that once seated thespring-urged pin or plunger 26 tends to preserve such seated conditionwherein the pin 26 then urges the socket member 20 rearwardly againstthe shouldered plate 34 which for the present purpose may be consideredas being stationary although it may be removed or detached from the skiunder abnormal conditions as described later.

The construction thus far described at the toe portion of the boot may,for example, be of the character sold under the name Gertsch.

The heel clamping device 12 now described in detail may, for example, beof the character sold under the name Marker and is now described inconnection with FIGS. 3, 5, 7-l0.

Mounted on plate 34 using screws 38 as seen in FIG. 3 is a forwardlydisposed base plate 42 and a rearwardly disposed cam block 40, such baseplate 42 having a series of spaced upstanding ridges 42A thereon betweenany selected two of which a cable 44 extends to provide an initialadjustment for spring tension developed as described later. Once theparticular base ridge 42A is selected for engagement with cable 44, acover member 46 pivotally mounted on such base plate 42 is then movedfrom its open position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to its closed positionshown in FIG. 9 wherein it frictionally engages a series of four arcuateshaped ridges 428 on base plate 42 to retain such cover 46 in closedcondition and at the same time to provide a solid surface upon which theheel of the boot may normally rest.

The previously mentioned cable 44 comprises two sections 44A, 44B eachhaving adjacent ends secured together by a crimping clamp 48 disposedbetween and engageable with walls of large slotted portion 42D of baseplate 42 within which, with the aid of cover member 46, the crimpingclamp 48 is retained.

The cable section 44A, like cable section 44B, extends throughcorresponding guide sleeves 50, 52 in a generally V- shaped structure 55having divergent leg sections 54, 56 and a central joining section 58.One end of cable section 44A extends within and is secured to acylindrical element 60 having a flanged portion 60A serving as a seatfor one end of a coil compression spring 62 having one of its endsbearing on seat 60A and the other one of its ends bearing on a flat face54A of member 54 which is slotted at 54C to permit lateral movement ofcable 44A through such opening 54C under certain conditions. Likewisethe other cable section 44B is secured to a similar spring seat 70 witha prestressed spring 72 exerting a pressure between seat 70 and face 56Aon member 56. Also, such member 56 may be slotted at 56C to permitmovement of cable 448 therethrough under certain conditions but in someinstances the slot 56C may be too narrow to permit lateral movement ofthe cable section 44B therethrough.

The spring seats 60 and 70 each bears against a metal plate or strap 76which together with a rubber or plastic cover element 77 is secured byscrew 78 to the metal frame portion 58. This plate 76 has securedthereto spring seat 70. Also plate 76 has an elongated apertured portion76A through which an adjustable screw 79 extends, this screw 79 beingthreaded in the spring seat 60 and having a flattened portion 79Aengageable with a like flattened portion at the end of slotted portion76A so that once the screw 79 is adjusted it is secured by the contactbetween flattened faces.

Pivotally secured to this V-shaped structure 55, as seen in FIGS. 9 and10, is a modified plate 80 having thereon a heel engaging roller 82 anda finger operated latching mechanism 84, the plate 80 being pivoted onpivot pin 86 around which a prestressed torque spring 87 is disposed tourge the plate 80 upwardly in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 10.This spring-urged plate 80, however, may be retained in a downwardlatched position by the hooked end of the pivoted latch member 84Aengaging a cross-piece 55E of structure 55.

The previously mentioned cam block 40 secured to plate 34 as seen inFIG. 3 cooperates with a stationary but adjustable element 90 which isadjustably secured to a plate 92 by a series of screws 94 passingthrough elongated adjustment slotted portions 90A, the plate 92 beingsecured to the ski S by screws 94.

In accordance with important aspects of the present invention, the camblock 40 as seen in FIGS. 5 and 7 has an upper angular cam surface 40Aand a pair of side angular cam surfaces 40B and 40C cooperatingrespectively with surfaces 90B, 90C, 90D on stationary element 90.

lt will be seen that these faces 90B, 90C and 90D of element 90 definean opening into which the cam block 40 may be inserted for normalretention therein subject to being dislodged therefrom under abnormalconditions as described later.

In the use of the ski bindings preparatory to inserting the boot, theplate 34 is mounted such that the cam block 40 thereon has its camsurfaces positioned within the stationary element 90 as shown in FIG. 3.The person wearing the boot B having the socket structure 20 thereonmanipulates his foot such that the pin 26 first enters the enlargedsocket opening 20F after which there is pivotal movement with respect tothe plate 34 such that the socket portion 20 becomes seated as shown inFIG. 4 in which case the spring-urged pin 26 exerts a force tending tomaintain the cam block 40 in its position shown in FIG. 3. The personthen proceeds to operate the heel clamping device 11 by positioning theroller 82 above and in engagement with the boot heel using theself-latching element 80 during which the coil springs 62 and 72 arecompressed. These springs as seen in FIG. 1 provide a force on the bootheel which tends to press the heel against the plate 34.

From the preceding description, it will be understood that the compositearrangement provides many safety features and provides consistent,reliable release of a skiers boot from a ski when an abnonnally largeforce is applied from any one of a myriad of possible directions duringmishaps. At the same time, firm engagement of boot to ski is provided bythe hereindescribed binding under normal skiing conditions. This is sobecause of the three forwardly disposed cam surfaces 20B, 20D, 20E andthree rearwardly disposed cam surfaces 40A, 40B and 40C, which underabnormal conditions permit release of the boot from the ski and alsobecause the spring seat 60 may become detached from its normalengagement with plate 76 when the abnormal forces are such to cause thehead of adjustable screw 79 to be completely withdrawn through and fromthe plate apertured portion 76A. in the latter case the conditions forsuch automatic release may be preadjusted by manual adjustment, i.e.positioning of the screw element 79 in its threaded spring seat 60.Preferably this adjustment involving screw 79 is located at the insideof the boot as shown. It will also be appreciated that when the springseat 60 thus becomes detached that the cable portion 44A may movelaterally through the slotted portion 54C which is sufficiently wide forthat purpose.

It will be further observed that when large lateral forces are appliedto the toe portion there is disengagement at the socket structure eitherby the bulbous pin end riding over the cam surface 20D, 20E or bydisengagement with plate 34. Also application of abnormal force directlyto and in line with the boot toe or instep could result in furthercompression of the springs of stirrup structure 55 to allow the boot tobe moved backwardly independently of plate 34 to permit disengagement ofthe socket structure 20 from the plate ledge 34A. In this latterapplication of force it is possible under certain conditions for thespring urged stirrup means 11 becoming unlatched or the cables passingthrough one of the side openings 54C, 56C such that in any case thestirrup means becomes effective to maintain the boot pressed againstplate member 34. Also, it is clear that application of forces laterallyto the heel portion could cause disengagement of the cam block 40 fromthe abutment means with sliding movement occurring along one of the camsurfaces 40B, 40C. Also forces applied between the boot and ski andperpendicular to the plane of the ski could result in disengagement ofthe cam block by sliding movement accomplished at the cam surface 40A.

While the particular embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from theinvention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appendedclaims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, ski bindings including: a socket structure forfastening to the toe portion of a ski boot;

a spring-urged plunger within a housing member which is mountable on aski for cooperation with said socket structure;

an elongated plate member having a length commensurate with a ski bootand having its forward portion contactable with a portion of said socketstructure;

said plate member terminating near its rearward portion in a cam block;

abutment means for mounting on a ski and having an inner portion inengagement with said cam block to normally retain said rearward platemember portion;

spring-urged stirrup means mounted on said plate member and having aportion thereof engageable with the upper portion of a boot heel to urgethe same downward against said plate member;

said plunger having a bulbous end portion normally contactable with acentral arcuate cam surface on said socket structure to press saidportions of said plate member and said socket member and said socketstructure together;

said socket structure having a pair of angularly disposed cam surfacesbetween which said arcuate cam surface is disposed for contact with saidplunger end when abnormal forces are present to allow detachment of saidplunger from said socket structure;

said cam block having a downwardly and rearwardly centrally disposed camsurface normally pressed into engagement with said abutment means and apair of angularly disposed carn surfaces between which said centrallydisposed cam surface is disposed to facilitate detachment of said camblock from said abutment means when abnormal forces are present.

2. In combination an attachment for a ski boot;

spring-urged means mountable on a ski and releasably engageable withsaid attachment;

abutment means mountable on a ski;

a plate member having a length commensurate with the length of a skiboot and having its forward portion releasably engageable with saidattachment and having its rear portion releasably engageable with saidabutment means;

and spring-urged means mounted on said plate member engageable with theback of said boot to resiliently press the same against said platemember.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said spring-urgedmeans is a bulbous plunger insertable into an enlarged cavity of saidattachment and engageable with a cam surface disposed between twolateral cam surfaces.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said abutment meansprovides a cavity portion and said plate member includes a cam blockinsertable in said cavity portion.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 in which said abutment meansis adjustable.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said spring-urgedmeans includes a stirrup structure, cables extending from said platemember through openings in said structure to a corresponding spring seatwhich engages one end of a corresponding spring to compress the same, aspringurged pivoted plate on said structure and having a portionengageable with the back of a boot, latching means for latching saidpivoted plate with respect to said stirrup structure.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 6 in which said stirrupopenings has at least one lateral opening through which said cable maymove laterally.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said spring-urgedstirrup means includes a member attached to said plate member, a springseat, and a releasable connection between said member and said springseat, said releasable connection being manually adjustable toautomatically release upon the occurrence of abnormal forces ofcorresponding different intensity.

9 The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said spring-urgedmeans includes a member attached to said plate member, a spring seat,and a releasable connection between said member and said spring seat.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 9 including manuallyadjustable means adjustable to adjust that force required to releasesaid releasable connection.

1. In combination, ski bindings including: a socket structure forfastening to the toe portion of a ski boot; a spring-urged plungerwithin a housing member which is mountable on a ski for cooperation withsaid socket structure; an elongated plate member having a lengthcommensurate with a ski boot and having its forward portion contactablewith a portion of said socket structure; said plate member terminatingnear its rearward portion in a cam block; abutment means for mounting ona ski and having an inner portion in engagement with said cam block tonormally retain said rearward plate member portion; spring-urged stirrupmeans mounted on said plate member and having a portion thereofengageable with the upper portion of a boot heel to urge the samedownward against said plate member; said plunger having a bulbous endportion normally contactable with a central arcuate cam surface on saidsocket structure to press said portions of said plate member and saidsocket member and said socket structure together; said socket structurehaving a pair of angularly disposed cam surfaces between which saidarcuate cam surface is disposed for contact with said plunger end whenabnormal forces are present to allow detachment of said plunger fromsaid socket structure; said cam block having a downwardly and rearwardlycentrally disposed cam surface normally pressed into engagement withsaid abutment means and a pair of angularly disposed cam surfacesbetween which said centrally disposed cam surface is disposed tofacilitate detachment of said cam block from said abutment means whenabnormal forces are present.
 2. In combination an attachment for a skiboot; spring-urged means mountable on a ski and releasably engageablewith said attachment; abutment means mountable on a ski; a plate memberhaving a length commensurate with the length of a ski boot and havingits forward portion releasably engageable with said attachment andhaving its rear portion releasably engageable with said abutment means;and spring-urged means mounted on said plate member engageable with theback of said boot to resiliently press the same against said platemember.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which saidspring-urged means is a bulbous plunger insertable into an enlargedcavity of said attachment and engageable with a cam surface disposedbetween two lateral cam surfaces.
 4. The combination as set forth inclaim 2 in which said abutment means provides a cavity portion and saidplate member includes a cam block insertable in said cavity portion. 5.The combination as set forth in claim 4 in which said abutment means isadjustable.
 6. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which saidspring-urged means includes a stirrup structure, cables extending fromsaid plate member through openings in said structure to a correspondingspring seat which engages one end of a corresponding spring to compressthe same, a spring-urged pivoted plate on said structure and having aportion engageable with the back of a boot, latching means for latchingsaid pivoted plate with respect to said stirrup structure.
 7. Thecombination as set forth in claim 6 in which said stirrup openings hasat least one lateral opening through which said cable may movelaterally.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which saidspring-urged stirrup means includes a member attached to said platemember, a spring seat, and a releasable connection between said memberand said spring seat, said releasable connection being manuallyadjustable to automatically release upon the occurrence of abnormalforces of corresponding different intensity.
 9. The combination as setforth in claim 2 in which said spring-urged means includes a memberattached to said plate member, a spring seat, and a releasableconnection between said member and said spring seat.
 10. The combinationas set forth in claim 9 including manually adjustable means adjustableto adjust that force required to release said releasable connection.